


In Every Lifetime

by Amy (InnitMarvelous), I love Tony Stark 3000 FOREVER (InnitMarvelous), InnitMarvelous, tsg (InnitMarvelous)



Series: Greatest Reward [10]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Anthology style story, But is NOT 100 percent compliant, Crossover, F/M, Family, Father-Daughter Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Grief, Humor, Love, Morgan crosses over into my universe, Mourning, Pepperony Bingo 2020, Read the story to see what I mean, Reunions, Sibling Bonding, Sibling Love, Siblings, Teenage Morgan, This story has some Avengers Endgame compliance, Tiny bit o angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-20
Updated: 2020-12-31
Packaged: 2021-02-28 19:48:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23232727
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/Amy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/I%20love%20Tony%20Stark%203000%20FOREVER, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/InnitMarvelous, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/tsg
Summary: When their teenaged daughter crosses over from another universe, Tony and Pepper will learn they are meant to be soulmates in every universe, whatever comes their way.Or Morgan Stark finally gets toexperienceher Dad's love again for the first time since she was a little girl.+++I am writing this to fill theMorgan Starkprompt on myPepperonybingo card!Chapter 2is a fill forDate Nighton my card.Chapter 3is a fill forSparkleon my card.
Relationships: James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Monica Rainbold, Tony Stark/Pepper Potts
Series: Greatest Reward [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/116476
Comments: 8
Kudos: 23
Collections: Pepperony Bingo 2020





	1. Starting Out Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all like this idea. I have been wanting to do it for awhile now.

Eva had a positively giddy gleam in her eyes when she moved her yellow pawn forward to the space occupied by her Daddy's pawn, "Sorry, Daddy!"

Tony took back his red pawn, and gave his daughter a knowing look, "Are you really, Little Miss? Because I don't think you are all _that_ sorry!"

"Yeah, I don't think she is _either_!" Ethan commented as his sister took another turned.

Pointing his finger at his son, Tony retorted, " _You_ have _no_ room to talk, Mister, since you've bumped a pawn of mine off the board no less than _three_ times during the course of this game!"

The little boy shrugged, giving his Daddy quite a devilish look that looked so much like his father's own that Pepper could not help the giggle that escaped her lips.

Tony's head whipped around to his wife, "You think it's funny that both _your_ son and _your_ daughter are practically ganging up on me during this game?"

Pepper nodded, "As a matter of fact, I--"

She didn't get to finish what was sure to be a very sassy sentence because JARVIS interrupted.

"Pardon the interruption, Sir, Ma'am, but Mr. Hogan is asking to speak with Sir at his earliest convenience. He requests that you come downstairs for a moment, Sir."

Tony exchanged a look with Pepper, then asked, "Is it a life or... uh emergency, J?"

"No, Sir, but I think Mr. Hogan considers it to be somewhat urgent."

"Go see what Happy wants," Pepper said before her husband could respond further.

"You really think I--"

"Yes."

“Okay, I will. Will you do me a favor while I am gone and my turn comes up? Don't let either of these little cutthroats anywhere _near_ my pawns!"

His wife rolled her eyes as his daughter giggled. "Daddy's silly."

"Oh I am, am I?"

"Yeah."

He nodded, and got up from his seat, looking at Eva, "You better be one the to look out, Little Miss. You never know when the Tickle Monster's going to make a visit to see a certain little girl."

Eva didn't seem all that alarmed by her Daddy's promise, and sounded self-assured when she responded, "Mommy will rescue me from the Tickle Monster? Right, Mommy?"

"I think you need to go see what Happy wants to see you for," Pepper said, evading both her husband and daughter.

"I'll be back soon. I just hope whatever it is Hap wants to see me about isn't about just another trespassing nutcase," he said, stepping on the elevator.

Pepper watched the doors close without making any comments and once he was on his way, she asked, "JARVIS, can you tell me what Happy wants?"

"There is... an unusual young woman who has requested to see Sir."

"About how old is this young woman, JARVIS?"

"She appears to be around fifteen or sixteen, Ma'am."

"Oh Tony's going to be _thrilled_ ," she muttered, already knowing what direction his meeting with her would be taking.

"Mommy, it's your turn!"


	2. Date Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> See note at the beginning of chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this wasn't what you were expecting when I posted Chapter 2 but I've decided to write this story along the lines of **Love By Another Day** and **Shadows of Love**. I hope I can continue with the first chapter soon but I have had some problems getting it the way I want it again after losing the chapter the first time I wrote it.

"So you have both of our numbers in your phone and if you don't, if you need to call us, all you have to do is ask JARVIS. And of course you can call on any of your Aunts or Uncles if you need any of them, and again all you have to do is ask JARVIS. Just remember that not everyone is home right--"

"Mama!" Morgan drawled the one syllable out to show how exasperated she was with her _mother_ , "I think I've got this! You and Daddy are just going out for a couple of hours, and if you're not back in a couple then you'll be gone five hours tops! I think can handle watching my brother and sister for that amount of time!"

Pepper nodded, and finished putting the last of her hair into place. She turned her head back and forth, making sure everything was perfect.

Morgan gave her a little hug from behind, and leaned close to her mother's head so she could look at her in the mirror, "You look _beautiful_ , Mama. Daddy's going to be knocked off of his feet when he sees you."

For tonight Pepper had elected to wear a simple off the shoulder black dress that came just below her knees with pearl drop earrings.

"Thank you, sweetheart," she murmured in return to her _daughter_.

Sometimes it was hard to forget that she wasn't the _Virginia “Pepper” Potts Stark_ who gave birth to the dark haired teenaged girl hugging her now. It was even harder to remember that she wasn't the one who actually raised her. So much about this girl reminded her of Tony and her _other_ two children that...

A knock at the door halted her thoughts in their tracks. In the mirror, she watched Morgan went over to the door, and opened it, "Come on in, Daddy."

Tony smiled at _their_ daughter, before he walked into the room, looking at his wife. His eyes trailed up and down her body before he gave an appreciative low whistle that was followed by an exclamation of, "Wow, Pepper! You looked heart stopping gorgeous!" 

He was wearing a black suit with a matching black tie. She turned around on her seat, and after giving him a look over said, "And you don't look so bad yourself, Mr. Stark." 

As always Morgan hung back, watching and listening as her parents unashamedly flirted with each other. As happy as seeing this made her, it also made her sad because she wished _her_ mother could see her Daddy again. She wished that _her_ mother could be held like this again by _her Daddy_. 

"Mo-Mo? Hello? Earth to Mo-Mo?"

Morgan blinked when her Daddy's hand passed in front of her face, and she looked at him, "What?"

"Are you okay?" he asked.

The girl didn't fail to notice the concerned look on her Daddy's face, and she nodded, "Yeah, yeah, I'm okay. I just got lost thinking about something I guess." She didn't miss the look her _parents_ exchanged so she added, "Really, I'm fine."

"Well, if you're sure?"

"I'm sure."

They looked at each other again, then her _mother_ said, "If you're sure--"

"Yeah, totally."

"-- then I guess we should get going?"

Her Daddy looked at his watch, and nodded, "Yeah, we should. We've got a 8 o'clock dinner reservation."

"Which we'll get to in plenty of time since the reservations you made were for the restaurant downstairs."

At hearing this, Morgan rolled her eyes, and exclaimed, " _Seriously_ , Daddy?! The restaurant _downstairs_?! I thought you guys trus--"

Tony put his hands on her shoulders, "We _do_ trust you, sweetheart, which is _why_ I made dinner reservations in another part of town."

"You did?"

"Yes, I did."

Morgan noticed her _mother_ raised a skeptical eyebrow in his direction.

"You really did?" 

"For the tenth time, _yes I did_ ! Like I said, I have confidence in _our_ daughter to be able to watch her brother and sister for the night. We are totally going to dinner on the _other_ side of town."

"Well if you made reservations for some place on the other side of town, we'd better get going because I am _not_ flying there via the suit so don't even think about suggesting it!"

"Me? Suggest we fly to the restaurant via the suit?"

"Yes, you! And don't try to deny it, Tony, because I've known you long enough to know what that gleam in your eyes means!"

"What gleam?"

_"You know what_ gleam."

"I do?"

"Yes, you _do_."

As she watched their tête-à-tête, Morgan smiled to herself. She felt all warm inside like she had as a little girl whenever her Mom or uncles had wrapped her in a blanket and held her close, snuggling together to watch a movie. But as warm as she felt right now, she felt sadness too. She was sad because this was something her mother or uncles had only been able to describe to her when she was growing up. She hadn't fully understood at the time what they were talking about since she was a little girl. Now that she had witnessed their magical, electrified banter for herself, she knew no description could have done it justice. However, as much as she was enjoying this, if they didn't get going soon, they were probably going to miss their reservations!

Fortunately she was saved by the AI before she had to break it up herself.

"The time is now 6:35 PM."

If JARVIS had a body, and sometimes Morgan really wished that he did (heck she knows her Daddy wishes that he did too), so she could give him a bear hug right now. But unfortunately JARVIS didn't, and the closest thing she could giving him a hug was to muttered _"Thank you, JARVIS."_ knowing the AI would hear her. When she felt a vibration in her jeans pocket, she didn't have to look to know what the message said.

In the meantime, Tony having heard their electronic butler, came out of the little reverie he was sharing with his wife, and glanced at his watch, "Okay, we need to get going in like the next 5 minutes or..." He allowed the end of that thought to trail off into air as his point was already known. 

With that, the three of them exited the master bedroom, and walked down the hallway to the living room where the youngest Starks were watching a movie tonight. Eva was the first to take notice of their entrance, and immediately she sat up. 

"Mommy, you look so pretty!" 

JARVIS paused the movie for them while Pepper bent over to give her _youngest_ daughter a kiss, "Thank you, sweetheart!"

"Yeah, Mommy, you do!" Ethan added.

"Thank you, baby," she said, giving her son a kiss too.

"And what about me?" Tony asked, really playing it up, "Am I chopped phooey or something?"

"Chopped phooey! Chopped phooey! Daddy chopped phooey!" Eva sang.

Pepper and Morgan giggled while Ethan looked like he wanted to laugh.

Tony sputtered, and looked at his wife, "C-can you believe it? Little little miss over there called me chopped phooey!"

His wife continued to laugh, then choked out, "You... have no one but yourself to b-blame for that one, Tony! You walked right into that... into _that_ one!"

His hopes that their _oldest_ daughter might back him up were quickly dashed when Morgan chortled, "Yeah, Daddy, you did kinda walk straight into that one!"

Rolling his eyes, he held out an arm towards his wife, "Well, now that my family has finished insulting me, shall we go to dinner, honey?"

Nodding she threaded her hand through his arm, "Yes, we shall."

The youngest Starks took their _older_ sister's hand, and they followed their parents over to the waiting elevator. Their parents stepped inside, and the doors would not close until JARVIS knew they wanted to go down.

"Both of you _be_ good for your sister," Pepper said.

"We will."

"We will."

Tony leaned over, and looked them in the eye, "We mean it, guys. Listen to what she says, and when Morgan says it's time for bed, you guys can have just _ten_ extra minutes and that's _all_. Okay?"

Their little heads nodded.

"How many extra minutes did Daddy tell you, you can have?"

"Ten!"

"Ten!"

"And what are you _not_ going to do?"

"Ask for more?"

"Bingo! You get ten and then bed. Okay?"

"Okay!"

"Okay!"

Morgan wrapped an arm around her _younger_ siblings, "It's okay, Daddy. I'm sure they won't give me any problems with bedtime. Will you guys?"

Ethan shook his head while Eva muttered a quiet, "No, Mo-Mo."

Tony eyed them both for a second more, and he'd been about to say something when Pepper spoke first.

"Our five minutes are up. We _really_ should go now. JARVIS, close the doors, and take us down to the garage please."

"Wait, a sec--"

All three kids smiled and waved at them, then said in unison, "Bye, Daddy! Bye, Mommy!"

When the doors closed, Morgan turned to her _younger_ siblings, "Okay, guys, we've got an hour and a half before you guys need to get your baths. So what do you want to do?


	3. Chapter 3

"Morgan?" 

"Hmm?" Morgan responded dreamily. 

The teen was half asleep as she laid with her head on her mother's lap. Her mother was playing with her her, which is why the girl was currently in the half awake state she was in right now. The two women were having a little bit of girl time together, the two _younger_ Starks having gone to bed for hours now. Once her younger siblings were gone, they'd then kicked Tony out of the bedroom, giggling at his scolded puppy act as he left the room.

"Cold ladies, cold! We're talking Siberia _COLD_ temps here!" he'd called out over his shoulder. "I'm shivering here!"

At that point, Morgan was concerned they had actually hurt her Dad's feelings, and so she had faltered just a little. But Tony had been quick to reassure her that he was okay with them getting some girl time together. He was especially okay with it after Pepper mentioned they'd be talking about hair styles, makeup, fashion, and as he knew, more than probably guys too.

"Can I ask you something?"

"I think you just did."

Pepper smirked, and lightly smack her daughter's shoulder, "Oh stop pulling your Dad's nonsense on me, Mo!" 

Morgan laughed, opened her eyes, "Sorry, Mama, but you kinda walked into that one when you _think_ about it!"

"Yeah, I guess I did, didn't I?" 

"Mmhmm. You _did_. So what did you want to ask me?"

"Well, I've noticed you staring at me a lot. When I say staring, I mean like really staring, like you would when you haven't seen someone for a long time. You know kinda the same way you look at your Dad. I'm just curious abut why you do that, Mo? 

"I mean I completely get _why_ with your Dad you do, but what I can't figure it out why you would do it so much with me." Pepper finished asking her question, then watched her daughter's face as the words found their way into the teen's brain. The silly smile on her face disappeared, and she thought she could see tears forming in the girl's eyes, "You know what, honey? Forget I asked that question. I don't mind you staring at me. I was just--"

Morgan sat up, and looked at her, "It's okay, Mama. It's just I guess I didn't expect you to ask a question like that. If you just let me think about it a second and I'll try to give you an answer, okay?"

"Morgan, sweetie, it's okay. You know you don't have to answer it."

"I know, Mama, but I think that I _do_ want to answer it. So I guess why I stare so much at you is..." Morgan started, then stopped and scratched the back of her neck as she thought, "Oh, I know! I guess the reason why I stare so much is because of uh your eyes."

"My eyes?"

"Yeah, your eyes."

Pepper was puzzled, as this was _not_ the answer she was expecting, like at all. "I don't understand, honey. You are talking about my eyes in comparison to your Mom's. Right?"

Morgan nodded.

"So mine are different in some way that hers?" Again the teen nodded. "But I thought you said your Mom was an exact copy of a version of me in appearance?"

"And she is too. You have that same color of hair... well _almost_. Mom's started going a little grey in a few spots, and she's not dyeing it. She doesn't need to really because I think it looks pretty on her too." The girl eyed the hair of the woman in front of her, "Say you're not dyeing _your_ hair are you?" Morgan immediately had her answer as her mother's visibly dropped, and she giggled as the older woman began to verbally protest.

"I _do_ **not** dye my hair, young lady! How in the world could you even ask such a- 

The teen touched her arm, "It's okay, Mama. Wow! It was just a question! Sorry I asked it!"

"Oh no you're not, you little brat!" the older woman exclaimed, glaring at her before joining her daughter in her laughter.

Morgan watched her mother for a little while, loving how her face looked so peaceful and relaxed in happiness when she laughed. It was a wonderful change to see laugh lines on the face of Pepper Potts Stark instead of _worry_ lines. But most of all it was her eyes that Morgan loved looking at, and she couldn't help but be caught staring for the millioneth time by the older woman again.

"It's the _sparkle_ in your eyes," the girl blurted out, once their laughter had started to die out.

"What?"

"You wanted to know _why_ I stare at you so much, right?"

Pepper nodded.

"Well, it's because of... because of the sparkle in your eyes. My Mom's... eyes don't have that same sparkle anymore. You know wanna know something that's sad? Until I came here, I... I can't remember seeing my Mom's eyes sparkle like _yours_ do. So... so when they'd talk about it, I never understood what Uncle Happy or Uncle Rhodey meant when they would talk about how Mom's eyes used to sparkle."

"It must be because of your Dad." 

"Yeah, it must be," Morgan agreed, "It's hard for me to remember how things were before my Dad... you know. I don't really actually remember what I'd call real memories. I was too young I guess when he... But what I do have are the... impressions I guess you'd call it... impressions that things were so different before Dad died."

"I would imagine they would have been. I imagibe they would have been a whole lot different. Sweetheart, you know while I can't say I can know exactly what you and your mother have gone through since your Dad died, I think I have had a small taste of it over the years."

The girl nodded, "You mean all the times Daddy almost got killed while he was still Iron Man, right?"

"Yes, in a way. But that is only partially what I meant."

"Only partially? What do you mean by only partially? Do I even want to know?"

Pepper sighed, and took a moment to think about what she was going to say. Although she was older than Ethan and Eva, since she had come here from her universe, they'd made the decision to keep her under a news blackout about what had almost happened to Tony. It wasn't because they thought she was too young to understand what had happened because she wasn't since she was a teenager after all! No more it was the fact in her universe, she had already lost her father at an early age (probably no older than Eva had been when Tony had been sentenced to death), and they hadn't wanted her to hear how close she came to losing her father again here. 

"I'm not sure that you do but I think this is something that I need to tell you about anyway, Morgan."

"Okay, that sounds ominous. Like _very_ omincous, Mama."

"That's because it is. It's something we... we haven't told you about before now, but I think the time has come that you should know about this."

Morgan could hear the seriousness of her tone, and the look on her face told her whatever she had to tell her, it was going to _big_. She shifted her position on the bed, and taking a rein on her anxiousness over the sudden shift in the tone of their conversation. "What is it, Mama?"

"It was a year and a half before you came that this happened, and before I tell you anything else about this, Mo, I need you to make a promise to me."

"What promise?"

"I need you to promise me that you will **NOT** tell either your brother or sister a word of this. This is something your Dad and I plan on telling them someday, but the time won't be for a while to come, like when they're much older. So do I have your promise that you won't tell any of what I'm about to tell you to either Ethan or Eva?"

Giving her a nod, Morgan added in words, "Of course. I promise I won't tell them whatever it is you tell me."

After taking another moment to consider where to begin her story, Pepper asked, "Did your Dad ever tell you _why_ he reacted the way he did when you told him that your name is Morgan?"

Morgan shook her head, "No, not really. I knew he didn't seem all too happy to hear my name is Morgan." The girl shrugged. "I don't know. I guess maybe I just thought he doesn't like the name Morgan for some reason?"

"Oh boy, that's putting it mildly," Pepper muttered.

"What? What was that you said?"

"Oh, nothing. Mo, there is a good reason _why_ your Dad had the reaction he had to your name. You see, in our um universe, there's another Morgan Stark."

"Yeah, I uh kinda suspected as much. I tried asking JARVIS if there was someone named Morgan here but he never would give me an answer." 

"That's good that he wouldn't answer you. It means he was following his programming and your Dad's instructions to filter out the information related to what happened."

Morgan absorbed the information, and replayed what was said in her head. A light went off in her head, "Oh my gosh, Mama! Who _exactly_ is Morgan Stark in _this_ universe? Is she someone who is a horrible person or something?"

Pepper grimaced, and then she nodded, "Yes, **he** is a horrible person. He's a _very_ horrible person in fact."

" _He_? The Morgan Stark here is a _he_?"

If what they were talking about wasn't so serious, Pepper probably would have laughed at the startled expression on her other daughter's face. Instead she nodded, "Yes, Morgan Stark here is a he and _he_ is your Dad's older cousin."

"Okay, that's different. Back in the verse I'm from, Dad doesn't... or didn't have any older cousins, like at all. In my verse, I was actually named after my Mom's favorite Uncle Morgan Potts."

"Well, Morgan is your Dad's only cousin he has... well Morgan and his son Connor, and Connor's son who is about Ethan's age. But it's hard to count Connor now because he longer claims the Stark family name as his own. I'm not sure he even claims his father any more."

"He changed his last name?"

"Yes, he did."

"To what?"

"His mother's last name before she married Morgan."

"Wow, whatever his Dad did must have been really bad, like _epic_ bad, and I wish you'd just go ahead and _tell_ what it is, Mama! I don't think I can handle the not knowing much longer!"

Pepper nodded, took a deep breath, then told her daughter from another universe _everything_ about what had happened with Morgan Douglas Stark. She gave her the awful highlights of Tony's so called trial, including recounting the moment the judge sentenced him to die by lethal injection. She told her how her Dad has asked, no had _begged_ the judge not to set his execution date for four days just after her brother's birthday, and how the judge had had _no_ mercy for either father or son.

"They were going to... kill Daddy just _four_ days after Ethan's birthday?!"

Fighting back tears at the memories, Pepper nodded, "Yes, they were and _almost_ **did**. We got to October 6th, and we still hadn't proven your father didn't murder all those people. The warden... he agreed to allow us to be in the same room that day so we could say goodbye to each other. He even agreed to let us hold hands and..." 

She stopped there, unable to tell Morgan about how Tony trembled when he got to feel her touch again after months of being denied. She also didn't have the heart to tell her about her memory of Tony breaking down at the thought his baby girl would never be able to remember him. She would have been just like Morgan who couldn't really remember her _actual_ father all that much beyond a few blurred memories.

"You mean you got to the day they were going... going to..." Morgan couldn't say the word again.

Pepper nodded, "Yes, we got to that day. And... we got to the time for the... the... you know."

"Oh, Mama, I... how could you... how did you..." the girl stopped there, trying not to cry herself.

"Oh sweetheart, come here," Pepper said, pulling her closer as the teen lost her battle with her tears, "It's okay, sweetheart. Your Dad's okay and here with us. He's just in another room... or is that on another floor? JARVIS, is Tony in his workshop right now?"

"Yes, Ma'am. Sir is indeed in his workshop."

"See? Your Dad's totally fi..."

Morgan didn't say a word. She just got up, and started walking out of her bedroom. She didn't stop for anything, not even when her mother called out to her. She just kept going because there was something she needed to do, and do it now.

Pepper exited into their floor's main area just in time to see the elevator doors close, "JARVIS, I think you need to alert Tony that Morgan is about to show up."

"I have already taken the liberty of doing so the moment she stepped into the elevator, Ma'am."

"Thank you," she said, sitting down on the couch to wait a few minutes before she made her next move.

* * *

"Sir, Miss Morgan is on her way down."

Tony was in the middle of going over some new designs when he heard the AI's voice, "Huh? What? What did you say, J?" JARVIS did not have time to repeat the statement before the doors of the elevator opened. He heard them, and turned around, surprised to see his oldest daughter emerge from the compartment.

"What's wrong, Mo?" he asked immediately upon noticing she was either crying or about to cry.

Morgan didn't say anything to answer him. Instead, she hurried across the room, around his desk, wrapped her arms tightly around him, and buried her face in the crook of his neck.

"What the..." Tony muttered, wrapping his own arms around her, puzzled as to what had happened to upset her so much since he saw her just an hour ago. 

He was especially puzzled, and concerned when Morgan actually did start crying. But there was nothing he could do to answer any questions he had right now, because providing comfort to the distraught child who was currently in his arms _always_ came first over his own curious concern.

The next several minutes the only sounds in the room were that of Morgan practically sobbing in his arms, the occasional whirring of DUM-E or U's gears, and Tony murmuring in his daughter's ear. He really wanted to know what had gotten her so upset that she would come to him, and sob like this. But her comfort was still his priority so getting an answer would have to wait awhile until she was calm again. However he would not have to wait as long as he thought he would. The elevator's doors opened once more, and Pepper emerged from the car.

Tony's eyes met his wife's as she silently crossed the room but did not alert Morgan of her presence. She raised a finger to her lips when he started to ask her what was going on.

"I'll explain later," she mouthed slowly, repeating when he didn't seem to understand.

He nodded, finally understanding what she had said to him. He watched, she turned around, slipped back into the elevator. She gave him a sad smile as the doors closed, and once again he was left alone with their daughter.

"Sorry," Morgan said, pulling back and wiping her eyes several minutes later, "Kinda embarrassing huh? Me blubbering like a baby like that?"

Tony took her face between his hands, "Don't be. Don't you ever be sorry or embarrassed for how you're feeling. Do you hear me, Morgano?"

Morgan nodded, "Okay, Daddy."

He kissed her forehead, and pulled her to him again, "So, you want to tell me what's going on? What's got you so upset?"

"Would you be upset with me if I said, um no I don't want to tell you, Daddy?"

"No, I won't be upset if you don't want to tell me. I'll be concerned, _yes_ , but upset with _you_ , no. So are you okay now?"

The girl nodded, "I th-think so."

"Do you want to stay down here with me for awhile or are you going to go back upstairs to your Mom?"

"I uh think I am going back to Mama. If that's okay?"

"It's fine, Mo. Whatever you want to do."

She pulled back, and looked at the computer monitors, "Sorry I interrupted whatever it is you're doing."

"Oh, this?" Tony said, pointing at the screens, "Is nothing. I was just fudging around with some new ideas to help your aunts and uncles fight the next bad guy who comes calling." Thankfully the world was calm right now, and no supervillains had presented themselves lately. The Avengers were actually getting a lengthy and welcomed break.

"Oh."

"Yeah."

"Okay, well I'm going to go back upstairs now. Okay?"

"Sure."

Morgan smiled at him, and untangled herself before slowly walking over to the elevator, "Daddy?"

"Yeah, Mo-Mo?" 

"I love you."

"I love you too, Morgan."

* * *

Pepper wasn't sure if Morgan would want to talk after she returned from the workshop, but she decided to wait for her anyway. When she heard the elevator about thirty minutes after she had returned from downstairs, she stood up, and went over to it. The moment Morgan exited the compartment, she was there waiting with open arms, and the girl went to them the moment she saw them.

"Are you okay, sweetheart?" Pepper asked her while they were still hugging.

Morgan nodded, "Yeah... yeah I'm okay. Seeing Daddy helped, like a lot."

"Good, good. I _hoped_ it would."

Morgan looked at her, "Will you tell me the rest of what happened?"

"Are you _sure_ , Mo? We can talk about this some other time if--"

_"No, Mama, I want_ to **hear** about the rest of what happened. Please?"

Pepper sighed, and nodded, giving in to her request. She held out her hand, "Come on, let's get comfortable before I tell you the rest of it. Do you want to go back to your room?"

"Uh, can we go to yours and Daddy's room instead please?"

"Sure we can if you really want to. Come on," Pepper said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

They walked down the hallway, and were delayed a few minutes as Pepper checked to make sure the _younger_ two Starks were comfortably asleep. Morgan waited patiently for her, even peeking into the rooms of her siblings while her mother pulled up their blankets to cover them, and lightly kissed their heads. She smiled, remembering the nights her own mother did that, believing she was asleep.

Those kinds of nights had come most often after her Dad died, and she supposed, her mother just needed to be sure she was okay during the long nights.

Pepper emerged from Eva's room, and quietly closed the door before she wrapped her arm around her oldest's shoulders again, "Come on, let's go finish with our talk." She was only too happy to wrap her arms around the girl as they laid down on the bed because she knew Morgan would need the physical comfort and assurance to hear the rest of this story.

**Author's Note:**

> The game they're playing is **SORRY!**.


End file.
